Ian Charleson

An architecture student at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland-born Ian Charleson switched to drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. A lengthy sojourn with the Royal Shakespeare Company led to a film career in 1978. Charleson is best known for his performance as the devoutly religious Olympic runner Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire. Ian Charleson died of AIDS in 1990, at the age of 40.